TUC backs MP's call for asbestos removal

TUC backs MPs’ call for asbestos removal

The TUC is demanding immediate action after MPs accused the government of complacency on the risks of asbestos in buildings and called for an asbestos eradication law. ‘The asbestos crisis: why Britain needs a new law’ was published last week by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health. Launching the report, group chair and Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery said the government is being “far too complacent about asbestos.” The report calls for all commercial, public, and rented domestic premises built or refurbished before 2000 to have conducted and registered an asbestos survey with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) by 2022. It says where asbestos is identified, all refurbishment, repair or remedial work done in the vicinity of the asbestos containing material should include its removal. The report adds if no such work takes place or is planned for the foreseeable future then the duty holder must develop and implement a plan for the removal of all asbestos by 2035. In the case of public buildings and educational establishments, this should be done no later than 2028. Welcoming the report, TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson said: “They are calling for new legislation requiring all employers to address the issue by, first of all doing a full survey of asbestos no later than 2022, and then ensuring the removal of all asbestos by 2035. In the case of public buildings and educational establishments, this should be done by 2028. This echoes a call from the TUC General Council earlier this year and we will be 100 per cent behind the campaign. If we do nothing then it is future generations that will pay. We need to act now.”

• TUC Stronger Unions blog. The Mirror. Morning Star.The asbestos crisis: why Britain needs a new law, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, October 2015.